The invention relates to a cleaning device for a glue-spreading element that spreads glue onto a material web, in particular a paper web, while in a working position, and that can be moved into a cleaning position inside the cleaning device. The invention furthermore relates to an arrangement comprising a glue-spreading element and a cleaning device, and to a machine used in the tobacco processing industry, in particular for producing cigarettes or the like, as well as a method for cleaning a glue-spreading element that is moved from a working position for applying glue onto a material web, in particular a paper web, into a cleaning position inside a cleaning device.
German unexamined published application 32 06 665 Al discloses a glue-spreading nozzle which is plunged into a liquid bath for cleaning the nozzle and preserving the glue inside the nozzle. During a break in operations, the nozzle is sealed from air outside of the cleaning device, so that the liquid glue inside the nozzle does not dry or harden. Since the glue nozzle is submerged repeatedly into the same cleaning bath, the liquid becomes increasingly polluted after each dip of the nozzle into the liquid bath.
European Patent Application EP 1 000 863 A1 discloses a glue-spreading element for spreading glue onto packages. The element is cleaned with a rotating roller that functions as a cleaning element and a sealing element for the glue nozzle. The roller is submerged into a water bath for cleaning the nozzle. The water bath and the roller used for this operation also become increasingly polluted.
A glue nozzle head, provided with several nozzles to apply a specific glue pattern onto a continuously moving paper ribbon is also known from German unexamined published application 100 19 930 A1. The paper ribbon provided with the glue pattern is cut into sections to be wrapped around the filter segment of a cigarette.